Forty Years Later, a New Way to See Cabaret

Cabaret celebrates its 40th anniversary with a Blu-ray debut.

BY Christopher Rudolph

February 04 2013 9:26 PM ET

Today marks the Blu-ray debut of one of the most beloved film musicals ever made, Cabaret. Released in 1972 to much critical fanfare, it went on to win multiple Oscars including Best Actress for Liza Minnelli, Supporting Actor for Joel Grey, and Best Director for Bob Fosse (beating out Francis Ford Coppola, who directed that year’s Best Picture winner, The Godfather). The Blu-ray release is packaged with a beautiful book highlighting the making of the film and also has special features including the new documentary entitled Cabaret: The Musical That Changed Musicals.

Aside from the occasional stage appearance or concert tour, these days Liza can be found making cameos in film and television series such as Sex and the City 2 and Arrested Development, but it’s Cabaret (and the TV special Liza With a Z, from the same year) that reminds you that she is one of the greatest performers the stage has ever known.

The restored Cabaret recently made its debut at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York, where TCM’s Robert Osborne hosted a Q&A with Liza, Joel, and other members of the cast. Watch the clip below when the cast swung by the Today show to talk about the Blu-ray and the making of the now-classic film.